Developing and refining a training program for a specific event is the ultimate challenge
for a coach. And it is their insight in this area that often makes the difference between
a good coach and a great one. As you work to develop your own program, I'd offer these
thoughts. (sources include Andy Reid, a PhD candidate at the
Otago University School of Physical Education in Dunedin, New Zealand, and comments by
Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong's coach.) Although Andy Reid did the
original analysis for a kilometer time trial, the same approach and concepts should
be applicable to track, road, and MTB competition.

Training should be specific for the competition being considered. A common
mistake is to look at an event as a single ride, but any event can be broken down into
several segments and specific modifications added to your basic program to address the
unique needs of each of these segments of the event.

For example "Using the Kilo TT as an example, here is what I am trying to say.
The most specific way to prepare for the kilo would be to go out
and ride a Kilo every day, or every second day with a day of rest to
allow us to adapt to the 'training'. Unfortunately (or fortunately
depending on how you look at it!), this would probably become
rather boring and that boredom (through the monotony of the
training program) may indeed lead to overtraining (Carl Foster,Med.
Sci. Sports and Exercise Vol. 30 No. 7 P1164-1168, 1998).

you are able to add specific training for each part of the event i.e.:

Start:

starts of varying distance - basically start intervals

strength work in gym & on bike

bounding (incidentally up hill or up stairs is probably
better for bike riders than on the flat as there is more reliance on
concentric power as opposed to stored elastic energy or stretch
shortening cycle...so therefore more like cycling).

Acceleration:

repeated intervals from a slow roll up to point where max speed is attained

We also know that riders get close to VO2max during the last
1/4 of the Kilo so general conditioning on the road which stimulates
increased capillarisation, aerobic enzyme activities and increases
in central factors (heart size, blood volume, red blood cells etc.) as
well as intervals which target VO2max directly are also appropriate.

Max speed:

intervals of at least the length of the maximum speed distance of the event

This parsing or breakdown of an event into its components when developing a training
program is often done without specific comment by coaches in many athletic fields. But it
is an approach that you can use as you training up for your own personal PR. Think about
your event in terms of its major challenge - for a long road ride, it is probably Speed
Maintenance segment while an MTB event would include frequent episodes of Acceleration.
Appropriate training programs would then include extra days for the relevant major
component of the planned event.

This separation into segments is to some degree artifical and these training segments are
interrelated. For example, although the final 200m of a one kilometer event is
anaerobic (ie a sprint), it is impacted by the training of the aerobic system. A highly
developed aerobic engine will delay the time (even by a few seconds) that you will become
anaerobic at the end of the kilo, and will minimize lactate levels until late in the ride.
Thus a kilo rider, in this example, should train the erobic system to stall the
negative effects of accumulated lactate as late into the event as possible. In this was
VO2max and aerobic conditioning which improve the lactate threshhold overlap and
impact sprint performance. Training only with sprints and failing to include some longer
distance rides (longer than the "sprint" event) would leave you performing below
your personal best.

But there needs to be balance, and too much compartmentalization in training can have its
own negative effects. Andy Reid, also a PhD student in the School of
Physical Education at Otago University, notes that training for both swimming and
running have progressed over the last few decades from from a purely segmented (or
compartmentalized approach with an emphasis on interval training working on one aspect
of fitness per session back to a more "integrated" approach.

In one workout an athlete training under this integrated approach will include aspects of
sprint training, specific endurance and general endurance. Can we apply this approach to
the training of cyclists?? Consider this regimen. Add in at least one day per week of
what we'll call "race practice sessions" that give a combination of

This is probably the optimal order, working on sprints when you are freshest. But as you
get closer to your event you can start with the longer stuff and finish with the sprints
so that you are sort of mimicking what goes on in a race.

The above are good for the shorter sprint and time trial events, but what about the
longer, perhaps multiday events? Chris Carmichael noted that the major breakthrough for
Lance Armstrong occured when he stopped focusing his training on his anaerobic system
(too many days of sprints/intervals and long rides at close to 100% V02max) and
began to train his aerobic system. This allowed him to increase his AT, be
"fresher" near the end of the race with less lactate on board, and as a result
capitalize on his anaerobic capacity near the end of the race day. An added benefit was less
recovery time from lactate build up and a stronger next day on the bike. Training too
hard, too many days in a row can be as bad as under training.